It’s been 47 years since the city of Dallas hosted its last title fight.

I figured Friday night was a good time for both of us to end our droughts.

So I wandered over to Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center to watch Maurice Hooker, a local kid, win the North American Boxing Organization’s junior welterweight title with a sixth-round TKO over Eduardo Galindo. It was the first title fight in Dallas since Curtis Cokes, another local kid, defended his welterweight title against Willie Ludick in 1968.

Both fighters entered the ring without defeats, but the night ended with Galindo sitting on his stool after five rounds with blood gushing from a cut over his right eye. The ring doctor stopped the fight.

Hooker improved to 18-0-2 while Galindo fell to 10-1-1. Hooker brought 13 knockouts into the ring and Galindo seven and the first round was a showcase of two fighters who could punch. Heavy blows were landed by both fighters. But Hooker focused on his boxing in the second round and took control of the fight.

Galindo came into the fight heavy at 151 pounds – 11 more than Hooker – and wanted to showcase his power. A frustrated Galindo twice challenged Hooker to stand there and fight, once in the second round and again in the fourth, but Hooker picked his spots and landed all the punches of consequence over the final four rounds.

The victory guarantees Hooker a spot in the world rankings. I doubt I’ll go 37 more years again before I see my next fight.

Promoted by Top Rank® and Sands China Ltd., in association with Tecate, SECA, Kreerin Promotions, Sampson Boxing and Foreman Boys Promotions, the Zou Shiming – Amnat Ruenroeng World Flyweight Championship fight will take place Saturday, March 7, at The Venetian® Macao’s Cotai Arena and televised via same-day delay on HBO2®, beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET/PT. Tapia will open the HBO2 telecast.

The third and final day of the 27th annual WBO Convention kicked off yesterday morning, and as anticipated, the open forum of the championship and ratings committees was not without fireworks. The day began with a short video presentation of the charitable work done by both the WBO and numerous WBO champions to promote the WBO “Kids Drug Free” program.

The second order of business came when Vice President John Duggan proposed a resolution that clarified that the position of “vice president of the China Zone” is now vacant and that the China commission is not to use any trademarks or logos. The resolution would also transfer this over to the Asia Pacific region. The resolution would be passed unanimously.

There then followed a brief discussion of the 2015 budget and a proposed amendment to the budget, which passed as well. Following this budget discussion, Joe Cortez briefly spoke of the role of instant replay in Nevada. “Instant replay in Nevada has been in play for two years,” Cortez said, “but it hasn’t been used.” Cortez noted that in Nevada only a referee has the discretion to overturn his or her decision, before adding that the “door was open” to any adjustments that needed to be made in regards to the rule as it stands in Nevada.

From there WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri spoke of the importance of being a role model as a champion.

“Being a champion is a world wide title,” Algieri said, “there are a lot of eyes on you. A lot of young eyes. As a champion you want to present yourself to the world as a champion. As a role model.” Algieri was subsequently presented the WBO Gordy Volkman Man of the Year Award for Outstanding Community Service.

Following the presentation of the Gordy Volkman Award to Algieri, the discussion then turned to where to host the 2015 WBO Convention. Although the Philippines had been the early front runner, having been named in 2013 as the location of the 2015 convention, it was passed over for Florida. Citing concerns over the recent typhoon in the Philippines, and the impact that had on the feasibility of hosting the event there, President Valcarcel accepted a recommendation for the 2015 WBO Convention to be held in Orlando, Florida. Puerto Rico was named as a backup location. President Valcarcel, however, indicated a strong desire to eventually have the WBO convention in the Philippines in the near future.

A brief video fallowed in which highlights of the 2013 WBO Convention in Budapest was shown. Heavyweight Charles Martin was awarded the NABO fighter of the year award at that time as well as several other special recognition awards to journalist Pedro Fernandez, Ulf Steinforth, and Wladimir Klitschko. Wilfried Sauerland was given an award after having been named “European Promoter of the Year” as well.

From there the ever contentious championship and ratings committee kicked off with their session.

This started in the mini-flyweight division, where Japanese matchmaker Ulysses Sato pushed to have his fighter enter the WBO rankings.

There were no requests at junior flyweight and only one at flyweight (to move an undefeated European champion into the WBO ranks). However, the relative lack of controversy in the lowest weight classes was not a harbinger of what would follow, as the discussions became more intensive starting with the junior bantamweight division. Representatives for #5 ranked Paul Butler requested a move to #1 or, in the alternative, to have the winner of the Paul Butler-Jamie Conlan fight be named the mandatory challenger. Conlan is ranked #7 by the WBO. Although Frank Warren’s request to have the winner of the Butler-Conlan fight named “interim champion” was denied, the committee and President Valcarcel did agree to name the winner of that fight as mandatory challenger for champion Omar Narvaez.

At bantamweight several promoters made arguments to have their fighters move into the top ten, most notably #13 ranked Pungluang Sor Sinyu and #14 ranked Lee Haskins.

At junior featherweight the executive committee did acknowledge the difficulties that Guillermo Rigondeaux was having finding opponents willing to take him on. Hedi Taouab Mohammed initially pushed to have his fighter, #4 ranked Zsolt Bedak, move up in the rankings before President Valcarcel inquired about a possible matchup between Bedak and #2 ranked Genesis Servania.

At featherweight a compelling argument was put forth by representatives of King Sports to have undefeated Colombian banger Miguel Marriaga move into the top ten. A proposed fight between #8 ranked British bomber Mark McCollough and #5 ranked Polish fighter Kamil Laszczyk was also discussed, as well as the possibility of the winner of that fight moving up into the top four. Ulysses Sato made a push to have Filipino Mark Gil Melligen, the #13 ranked WBO Oriental champion, move into the top ten.

A familiar name was brought up in the junior lightweight discussions as Main Events pushed to have Edner Cherry return to the top ten on the basis of his nine fight winning streak. President Valcarcel seemed open to the proposal.

At lightweight it appeared highly likely that Juan Diaz might move up from #3 to #1 after the current #1 contender, Ray Beltran, fights the WBO champion Terence Crawford. The prospect of the #1 slot opening up brought out numerous other requests, including one from representatives of #4 ranked Anthony Crolla. However, that request was immediately challenged by Frank Warren, who reminded the executive committee that Crolla “never fought anyone in the WBO top 15” before offering his fighter, #9 ranked Terry Flanagan as a strong candidate to move up.

At junior welterweight the recognition that the title may be at play in the coming months also led to a contentious and colorful discussion. Ruslan Provodnikov’s camp made an argument to have him leapfrog #1 ranked Lucas Matthysse. Several fighters had representatives push to have them move into the top ten, including Emanuel Taylor and veteran Paul Spadafora.

In the welterweight division several promoters jockeyed to have their fighters move up, with the most notable being undefeated Canadian prospect Mikael Zewski, undefeated Fredrick Lawson, and the winner of the upcoming Jeff Horn-Robson Assis fight. Horn, the WBO Oriental Champion, is ranked #11 while Assis, the WBO Latino champion, is ranked #12.

In the junior middleweight division Frank Warren pushed to have #10 ranked Liam Smith move up while representatives of #13 ranked Sirimongkol Singwancha also pushed to have the Thai based fighter move into the top ten.

In the middleweight division the biggest news came when the WBO championship and rating committee voted unanimously to name the winner of a proposed four fighter elimination as the top middleweight. The first fight, between #4 ranked Andy Lee and #1 ranked Matt Korobov, would then face the winner of the Billy Saunders –Chris Eubank fight. Saunders is currently ranked #2 while Eubanks is ranked #9. Also noteworthy in the discussions regarding the middleweight division were proposals to move Abraham Han into the world rankings as well as a push to have Willie Monroe Jr. move up in the rankings.

In the light heavyweight division several fighters received pushes to move up the rankings including #11 ranked Isidro Ranoni Prieto, who already is emerging as arguably the most popular fighter ever from Paraguay.

In the cruiserweight division a second four fighter elimination looks likely as the winner of the upcoming Tony Bellew-Nathan Cleverly fight would fight either #1 ranked Krzysztof Glowacki or #3 ranked Nuri Seferi with the winner being named the mandatory for WBO Champion Marco Huck. Bellew is currently ranked #4 while Cleverly is currently ranked #5.

In the heavyweight division the discussion revolved around Wladimir Klitschko and who his next mandatory challenger would be, as well as when he would be required to fight that fighter. After some discussion, it became apparent that the winner of the upcoming Tyson Fury-Dereck Chisora fight would be named mandatory challenger to the WBO champion, although the timetable of that mandatory defense was still not set in stone.

Rounding off the event was the gala banquet in which the family of the recently deceased Dan Goossen was presented with an honorary WBO belt. Several other awards were handed out, including WBO Promoter of the year (Bob Arum), WBO Fight of the year (Crawford-Gamboa), WHO female fighter of the year (Carolina Duer), WBO fighter of the year (Sergey Kovalev), Spanish Network of the year (Telemundo), and an award to Vasyl Lomachenko, who was given an award for being the WBO champion with the brightest future. Rounding off the gala banquet was a touching and moving ceremony where both Joe Calzaghe and Oscar De La Hoya were awarded lifetime champion awards by the WBO. Both Calzage and De La Hoya gave moving speeches about their ties to the WBO, and how important the WBO belt had meant to them as fighters.

The World Boxing Organization 27th Annual Convention kicked off in full force this morning at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas as members from around the world introduced themselves and we subsequently treated to a video presentation highlighting last year’s convention in Budapest. The first order of business for the executive committee was the Championship Committee report, which highlighted the strong position of the WBO in regards to participating in championship fights. In 2011-2012 the WBO made a strong statement to the boxing world as they had an impressive 38 championship fights. However, as that number dipped to 32 in 2012-2013, the WBO was keen on making a strong statement and to bounce back. The Championship Committee was happy to report that the WBO more than exceeded expectations here.

“This year we came back fierce and strong,” commented Luis Batista Salas, chairman of the Championship Committee. “We came back with 40 championship fights. We had more championship fights than the other organizations together.” Batista Salas also commented on the growth, and strength, of WBO Women’s boxing. “We have 25 champions in the female division, and we only began three years ago with female championship fights.”

Perhaps most noteworthy for the Championship Committee was the prominent role that mandatory defenses played in WBO championship fights. “Mandatory fights are something we take very seriously,” Batista Salas added, “(The WBO) had 32 mandatory fights! This is also a record. That is also something to be proud of.”

From there President Valcarcel announced that the President’s Report would be postponed until after lunch to allow him to speak at length about some issues, including his planned announcement for the second day of the convention, in which the WBO will petition Senator John McCain and the ABC to propose amendments to the Muhammad Ali Act, proposals that would strengthen the bill and impose harsher penalties for violations. He then took a jab at the other organizations, and in particular the recent summit of boxing organizations in Cancun, Mexico that was hosted by the WBC.

“I wasn’t there to waste time in Cancun for some public relations stunt where nothing gets done,” Valcarcel said to the Executive Committee, “there were two of them in the past and nothing got done. We didn’t intend to go and waste our time.”

Valcarcel indicated a desire to continue working with local commissions and the ABC to promote safety and proposed rule changes, noting that local laws will always trump the WBO rules, and therefore it was important to work closely with these commissions. He also added that he will be meeting with the chairman of the IBF tomorrow, as the chairman will be visiting with the WBO in Las Vegas.

The Grievance Committee report followed, and in what could considered a “short and sweet” summary, the Grievance Committee chairman Alberto Rodriguez was happy to announce that there were no complaints submitted to the committee in 2014. He then discussed the process for a party to submit to the grievance committee.

A short video followed featuring WBO women’s bantamweight champion Carolina Duer, followed by Ms. Duer thanking the WBO and expressing her appreciation for the WBO. “Since I’ve been a world champion I’ve always been only a WBO champion,” Duer said to the executive committee, “I am very proud to represent this organization.”

The next order of business was the regional vice presidents report, starting with Istvan “Koko” Kovacs and WBO Europe. Kovacs was pleased to report a very successful year for the WBO Europe. “We had the pleasure to organize the second WBO congress (in Budapest) in 2013 and according to the feedback and your comments, it was very successful. Already after the 2009 (WBO Congress) we saw an increase in the nonetheless already significant activities of WBO Europe. But I must admit that I did not expect to have such extraordinary accomplishments (in 2014).”

WBO Europe increased overall, and although WBO International saw a slight decrease, much of that was attributed to tighter restrictions and higher standards. “We tightened the requirements for the belt,” Kovacs said, “we had less fights but there is higher prestige to the belt.”

However, any drop in activity to WBO International was more than made up by the increase in activity from the WBO European titles. It went from 11 fights in 2013 to 27 in 2014. The number of WBO regional titles in Europe nearly doubled from 29 in 2013 to 53 in 2014, Kovacs then discussed the increase in activity across the board for the WBO in Europe, citing the increased number of fights from the WBO Youth (from 4 to 9) and WBO female championships (from 5 to 9). In 2014 there were also 10 WBO championship fights in Europe, which was the same number as in 2013.

Kovacs then discussed the overall history of the WBO European title since 2009, noting that they have had 92 championship fights, with 54 champions, of which 13 would go on to fight for the title, and of which 3 world champions would emerge. Kovacs then discussed the financial situation with WBO Europe, noting that since 2009 the WBO Europe brought in $95,600 for the WBO in 2014 alone, thus making it the most successful year ever for WBO Europe. Since 2009 WBO Europe has collected over $325,000 in sanctioning fees for the WBO. Kovacs then took a few moments to discuss the ways in which WBO Europe took part in the WBO Kids Drug Free program.

From there WBO Asia Pacific Vice President Leon Panoncillo took the floor to discuss both the state of boxing in Asia and in Africa.

“Asia Pacific has shown positive growth, with 17 sanctioned fights since last year’s convention,” Panoncillo said. He also added that WBO Asia Pacific brought in $28,011.57 in revenue since the last convention and that he expected to sanction five more fights before the end of the year.

He then discussed the WBO Oriental title, adding that since the last convention he sanctioned 30 Oriental Championship matches, collecting a total of $44,250 in revenue since the last convention. The impressive increase in activity marked a dramatic rise in activity for the WBO Oriental title, making 2014 one of the most successful years in the history of WBO Oriental and in striking range of being the most successful year ever for the title. Panoncillo then went on to discuss the WBO Africa, noting that WBO Africa has sanctioned 16 total championship fights since the last convention and that it has raised $21,400 in revenue. Panoncillo then closed out with a discussion of the state of affairs with WBO Asia Pacific Youth, noting that the WBO sanctioned three youth titles and subsequently raised $2,525 in revenue for the WBO since the last convention.

From there WBO first vice president John Duggan discussed the China Zone development, and his hopes to see the WBO continue to grow in the region.

After Duggan’s discussion of China the WBO handed out several awards, with Marco Huck being the most notable. Huck was recently named a WBO Super Champion, and although he did not have a Super Championship belt yet, he was awarded a plague commemorating his accomplishment.

“This is a very rare and great honor,” Huck said after receiving the award, “I am very proud to be named Super Champion after 13 title defenses.”Also given awards were Osvaldo Rivero, who was named Latin America promoter of the year by the WBO. Also given an award was Patrick Teixeira, who was awarded the OMB Latino Champion of the year.

From there Jorge Molina presented his report on WBO Latino, noting that he still embraced the philosophy that “the sky’s the limit” when considering the future of the organization. Since the last convention, Molina noted that the WBO has sanctioned 30 championship fights, an increase from 25 in 2013. Of those 30 fights, 10 were held in Argentina, 10 were held in Brazil, six were held in the United States, 3 were held in Mexico, and 1 was held in Puerto Rico. Five fights were in the welterweight division, five were in the junior bantamweight division, and four were in the junior middleweight division. Molina then discussed the proud history of the OMB Latino championship, noting that the WBO Latino held an astounding 526 title fights since 1996. Of those who fought for the WBO Latino title, 134 would go on to fight for the world title, while 41 would go on to win world championships. Molina then added that since the last convention three OMB Latino Champions have gone on to win world titles as well. Molina then closed out with a video presentation that highlighted some of the greatest moments of WBO Latino, highlighting some legendary champions like Michael Carbajal and Ener Julio.

The executive committee took a short recess for lunch, and upon returning from lunch, resumed with the treasurer’s report. WBO CPA Jaime Ceballero advised that the strength of the WBO financial situation, adding that the WBO had $1,242,724 in savings, an increase in revenue of 302%. The increase in revenue was the largest ever in the history of the WBO. He then added that the WBO accounts included nearly $2,000,000 when added with the accounts of all of the regional organizations. He then added that, if the WBO were to pay off all of their debts today, they would still hold in excess of a million dollars. The positive report prompted President Valcarcel to ask if the WBO could spend more money on the WBO Kids Drug Free program. Unfortunately there was one area where regional organization in which WBO didn’t have tremendous success initially in 2014: the NABO.

The NABO had recently changed leadership in February of 2014 after reporting substantial losses in 2013 and early 2014. New NABO Vice President Jose Izquierdo, however, had done much to turn that ship around since taking over. One area of strength was the increase in fights on “important” cards such as the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley PPV card, or the recent Floyd Mayweather-Marcos Maidana PPV in 2014. Since taking over the helm at NABO, Izquierdo has sanctioned 12 NABO title fights and 14 Inter-Continental title fights, helping fuel a dramatic turnaround for the NABO financially.

“There is a dramatic decrease in the amount owed,” Izquierdo said, “over 46% decrease. And a 790% increase for cash on hand.”

Izquierdo has taken a much more inclusive approach to spearhead the NABO’s sudden resurgence. “I’ve called local commissions to have them recommend fighters to be considered and become part of the rankings of the NABO,” Izquierdo said.

The positive changes in the direction of the NABO prompted vice president Luis Batista Salas to sing Izquierdo’s praises during his presentation. “He has changed the face of the NABO,” Batista Salas said of Izquierdo.

From there President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel presented the WBO President’s Report, and as expected, he took time to again discuss a topic that has become his cause belle: the proliferation of titles in boxing. Valcarcel first commended Jose Izquierdo on scoring a knockout with WBO’s presence on social media like Facebook.com and Twitter. Noting how WBO’s Facebook page went from 7,000 followers to 334,996 followers in only one year, he commended Izquierdo for helping turn WBO boxing into one of the most popular boxing pages on the internet.

“It is the fastest way to get resolutions out and give the public an outlet (to communicate with us).” Valcarcel said.

Valcarcel then spoke time to speak about the WBO champions, noting that “the WBO is very lucky, because we have the money makers. We have the best champions around the world.”

He then took a jab at a rival organization, noting that former WBO middleweight champion Peter Quillin was making more money in his title defenses than a rival organizations champion who had become a regular fixture on television. He also noted that at the bantamweight weight class, the WBO recently received a $600,000 purse bid from a promoter for a title fight and that Marco Huck is highly successful in the cruiserweight division, earning tremendous paydays as a cruiserweight. Valcarcel then took another jab at the rival organizations and the proliferation of numerous “copper, platinum, silver, and aluminum” titles.

“We have the WBO (world) champion and that’s it! We call Klitschko a Super Champion and that’s it. We don’t have anyone (other champion) behind him. I want to be polite, but I have to speak the truth. Who cares about Alex Povetkin? The champion is Klitschko!”

Explaining the difference between the WBO and some of the other sanctioning organizations in how they recognize champions.

“We have regional titles, but others, they have 3, 4, 5 titles.” Valcarcel added. “We only have one Latino Champion…that means the WBO Latino title carries prestige. We want to keep it that way. We don’t want to have a bunch of titles.”

From there discussions turned to recent litigation involving the WBO, including a case in Puerto Rico that threatens the tax-exempt status of the WBO.

“Our financial success has attracted the attention of inland revenue in Puerto Rico,” WBOs legal counsel associated with the case told the commission, “due to new tax laws in Puerto Rico and the recession in Puerto Rico, and the degradation of Puerto Rican bonds. Puerto Rico has imposed further taxes to cover this.”

Although the WBO is a recognized non-profit according to the United States federal government, the government of Puerto Rico has refused to give full faith and credit to this designation, and their decision had initially been upheld by the Puerto Rican court of appeals. Although the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico initially refused to hear the case, the WBO remained confident that they still had a strong appeal.

Jose Izquierdo made a motion to give the President the authority to unilaterally name a committee to take on this issue at his discretion, a motion that was passed unanimously.

The second issue discussed was the issue of a trademark registration in Europe, and a fraudulent company that sent an unsolicited letter demanding payment to “register” the WBO trademark. This letter was disregarded when the WBO European Council assured the executive committee that the WBO trademarks are registered for the next several years.

Closing out the first day of the meeting, President Valcarcel again discussed the issue of the WBO’s refusal to take part in the joint summit of boxing sanctioning organizations held in Cancun earlier this year.

“We can work with other commissioners regarding safety,” Valcarcel said, “that doesn’t mean we have to meet up (with rival organizations) for it. I never heard of Coca-Cola and Pepsi having a meeting together. You have your own flavor, we don’t have to meet anyone, we don’t have to go anywhere because we are very busy. We are busy working with kids, enhancing the image of the sport. We had a meeting in 2011 and we talked about the same issues. We are doing much more than other organizations. Did you hear of other organizations doing as much for kids?”

WBO European member Markus Aslani then chimed in, “We stick to our rules and we don’t take part in the inflation of titles.”

“I think the main problem in boxing is that you have more than one champion in each division,” Valcarcel added.

“We have the support of the most respected boxing writers of the world,” Valcarcel added, “I think in boxing, honesty is the best policy. If we are recognized as the honest organization, we are going to have success.”

From there President Valcarcel added that he will discuss proposals to Senator John McCain and Harry Reid in regards to amendments to the Muhammad Ali Act, and that the WBO would “not tolerate corruption in its ranks.”

Rounding off the opening day was a presentation on the still developing China Zone, which discussed its plans for 2015. The event closed off with a cocktail party that evening, and is set to resume tomorrow at 8:30 AM.

Three months after it began, the Boxcino tournament reached its climax on Friday night in Verona, New York at the Turning Stone Casino. The finals of the lightweight and middleweight categories were won in contrasting styles as Petr Petrov rocked Fernando Carcamo from pillar to post to snag the lightweight belt, while Willie Monroe, Jr. outslicked Brandon Adams to clinch the middleweight bauble.

Opening the broadcast was the middleweight final featuring the two least likely contestants in least experienced Brandon Adams (Los Angeles, CA) going in against Willie Monroe, Jr. (Rochester, NY).

Adams entered the tourny a relative unknown at 12-0, 8 KOs, but crushed Daniel Edouard via TKO4 and dominated Raymond Gatica in a easier-than-the-scores-showed split decision win over eight rounds five weeks ago. Monroe scored distance wins over the more experienced Donatas Bondarovas and tourny favorite Vitalii Kopylenko to secure his spot in the finals.

As expected, Monroe, Jr. utilized his speed and reach right from the get go, working off the jab at every opportunity. The shorter Adams was relegated to lunging and one shot at a time in an effort catch the slick Monroe, Jr. In the sixth, it appeared Adams may have had a moment as a right hand seemed to stagger “El Mongoose” into a neutral corner, but perhaps sensing his foe wasn’t hurt, Adams didn’t try to capitalize. Monroe, Jr. later admitted the punch actually caught his glove and he tripped over his own feet while trying to back pedal away, thus stumbling into the corner post. Adams did manage to legitimately sting Monroe, Jr. on a couple occasions, and the two stood toe-to-toe, a strategy which favored Adams and elicited cheers from the crowd. But the smarter Monroe, Jr. knew that distance and speed would win the day and maneuvered out of harm’s way each time. Adam’s corner plead for their fighter to press the issue as the later rounds approached, but his efforts weren’t enough as the ring-wise mongoose worked his plan to near perfection. In the end, all three judges Tom Schreck, Don Ackerman and Don Trella agreed at 99-91 for Monroe, Jr., now the Boxcino, NABO and NABA middleweight champion. With the win, Monroe, Jr. moves to 18-1, 6 KOs, while Adams tastes defeat for the first time at 14-1, 9 KOs. Incidentally, Monroe, Jr. said in the post fight press conference that he is headed back to 154 lbs. and ceded the middleweight division to his friend Brandon Adams. It remains to be seen if the middleweight dollars will dictate otherwise.

In the highly anticipated lightweight finals, the oldest participant in the tourny, Petr Petrov (Madrid, Spain by way of Russia) forced his will upon lanky Fernando Carcamo (Ciudad, Obregon, Mexico) over eight one-sided rounds, scheduled for ten. While Carcamo looked on paper to be the bigger puncher with thirteen of his seventeen wins coming via stoppage, it was Petrov who’s punches seemed to do all the damage. Petrov had no problem negating Carcamo’s massive height and reach advantage in landing whatever he wanted, especially his lead overhand right. It didn’t take long for most keen observers at ringside to opine that Petrov’s punches would have some major impact, perhaps sending Carcamo down and even out. Carcamo would have brief spurts of energy, deciding to move forward and throw punches, but those punches seemed to have no effect as they did on earlier Boxcino foe Samuel Kotey Neequaye (TKO2). Besides his punches not serving him well, neither did his legs in moving him out or harm’s way. In the seventh, Petrov landed some blistering combos and upper cuts on the taller man that snapped Carcamo’s head back. It seemed referee Dick Pakozdi might stop it, but as Carcamo reeled across the ring, the bell saved the day, or rather prolonged the inevitable. While in the corner, Carcamo’s trainer Joel Diaz seemed to decide matters were over, first telling his charge so, then waving to Pakozdi that the fight was finished. Then inexplicably, Diaz did an about face, and gave Carcamo one more round. Pakozdi called in the ringside physician who took a good look at the beaten fighter. He advised Pakozdi to end matters if any more serious punches were landed. At :40 of the eighth, the ref did just that, saving Carcamo from any further punishment. The completely depleted Carcamo almost seemed relieved, making no protests over the stoppage. Petrov also picked up the NABO and NABA belts along with the Boxcino lightweight belt. He now moves to 35-4-2, 17 KOs, while Carcamo slides to 17-6, 13 KOs.

Opening up the night were super lightweights Jeremy Graves (Niagara Falls, NY) and Sam Teah (Philly, PA). Teah handled everything the aggressive Graves tried and employed his skill and will over four rounds to post a unanimous 40-36 win. Teah moves to 4-0, 1 KO while Graves drops to 0-3.

In a big upset, crafty but unsung Marcus Hall (Rochester, NY) squeaked out a huge win over previously undefeated Cesar Vila (Brooklyn, NY) over four rounds. The slippery southpaw Hall moved, used awkward counters and avoided just enough punishment to befuddle the ever-forward-moving Vila. Wynn Kintz saw it even at 38-38, while Don Trella tabbed it 40-36 and Don Ackerman had it 39-37 for the majority decision winner Hall, now 8-6-1, 2 KOs. Vila drops his first at 6-1, 2 KOs.

In a reverse “somebody’s ’0′ has got to go” bout, winless heavyweights Eric George (Niagara Falls, NY) and Raymond Santiago (Albany, NY) looked to erase the “0″ from their respective win columns. It was a fan friendly bout, with both combatants slugging away from bell to bell. Santiago’s nose bled from round one onward as his defense was non-existent, but his heart was nearly as big as his 232 lb. body. The smaller (202 lb.) George had a bit more speed and endurance, which led to his 40-36 across the board win. George enters the win column at 1-6, while Santiago loses his first at 0-2-1.

Being chosen in your pro debut as the opponent for a young Brazilian K.O. artist who is trained by one of Brazil’s greatest K.O. artists- Acelino “Popó ” Freitas, is probably as scary as it gets. But Buffalo, New York’s Jr. Lightweight Michael Jackson hoped he’d have the moves of his namesake to pull off a “Thriller” of an upset. It was not to be as Brazil’s Vitor Jones de Oliveira stalked, bloodied, and knocked down Jackson over the four round distance. Though unable to finish his fleeing foe, de Oliveira did what he had to in notching a comprehensive 40-35 shutout to move to 3-0, 2 KOs. Jackson starts out at 0-1.

In a walkout bout featuring two undefeated welterweights, Oscar Torres (Anaheim, CA) imposed his will over Cornelius Whitlock for four rounds. Torres scored a knockdown in the opening frame, but couldn’t seal the deal as the cagey Whitlock tried to keep his own unblemished record intact. Torres would have none of it though, stalking Whitlock, landing more punches and overall impressing the judges. Scores were 40-35 straight across the board as Torres improves to 3-0, 1 KO, while Whitlock drops his first to slink to 3-1-2, 2 KOs.

“Prince” Charles Martin (16-0, 14 KOs) impressively dismantled and knocked out previously undefeated Alexander “The Great” Flores (14-1, 12 KOs) to win the vacant NABO heavyweight title on Wednesday night at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, California. Martin was in command from the beginning and dropped Flores hard at the end of the third round with a straight left cross. Martin then finished Flores off with a hard left cross to the body followed by a right hook that crumpled Flores to the canvas where he was counted out at 1:14 of the fourth round.

Former WBA/WBO middleweight titlist, Hassan N’Dam N’Jimkam (30-1, 18KO) used his superior hand speed and footwork to win a unanimous decision victory over three time world title challenger, Fulgencio Zuniga (26-9-1, 23KO). Zuniga proved to be a tough customer but the Colombian also showed every bit of his 36 years of age in dropping the fourth of his last five bouts. N’Dam N’Jimkam, meanwhile, wins his third fight in a row following losing his middleweight title to Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin. All three judges scored the bout 100-90 in favor of the Cameroonian fighter, N’Dam N’Jikam.

In an All-African ten round welterweight affair, it was South Africa over West Africa as southpaw Chris “The Heat” Van Heerden (21-1-1, 11KO) won a workmanlike split decision over Ghana native, “Sugar” Ray Narh (26-5, 21KO). Narh was simply unable to cope with the busy punching and forward charging Van Heerden. Although Van Heerden seemed to be the clear cut victor, he had to settle for the split decision as judges saw the bout 96-94, 96-94 and an inexplicable 93-97 (in favor of Narh).

Yunier “The Knockout Artist” Dorticos (17-0, 17 KOs) lived up to his nickname by destroying former world challenger, Eric “Danger” Fields (24-3, 16 KOs) by way of a crushing knockout at 2:58 of the fourth round. Both fighters were down in the first round, Dorticos from a looping right hand and Fields from a straight right cross. Dorticos then went into stalking mode for the remainder of the bout and had Fields on the run until finally catching him with a perfect 1-2 combo, with the right hand dropping Fields for the count. With the victory, Dorticos retains the interim WBA Fedelatin cruiserweight title and wins the vacant USBA cruiserweight title.

In opening bout action, a scheduled eight round middleweight bout, Louis Rose (10-1-1, 3 KOs) controlled the action in a competitive bout and finally got a dramatic TKO victory at 2:58 of the final round over tough as nails Emmanuel Ledezma (12-2-2, 2 KOs). A double right hand staggered Ledezma and a left hook dropped him against the ropes. The referee deemed Ledezma unable to continue and wisely waved off the bout with just two seconds remaining.

The fireworks began before the first bout even began as the crowd was treated to a performance by the UCLA Marching Band and the National Anthem performed by the guitarist from the iconic punk rock band, The Sex Pistols, Steve Jones.

The 26th Annual WBO Congress in Budapest, Hungary came to a conclusion yesterday with the ever popular final day event: the Championship and Ratings committee meetings.

The final day’s events kicked off as President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel and the board entertained motions from the floor from various promoters in regards to their fighters. Although there was little movement in regards to the lighter weights President Valcarcel confirmed that mini-flyweight champion Merilito Sabillo of the Philippines is slated to fight #1 ranked Carlos Buitrago of Nicaragua in Dubai in November. At 108-pounds it was confirmed that junior flyweight champion Donnie Nietes of the Philippines is cut and will be sidelined for a short period of time. #1 ranked Moises Fuentes of Mexico is slated to fight for a International title, a move that will certainly position him for the mandatory slot when Nietes recovers from his cut. At flyweight President Valcarcel and the board confirmed that Mexican champion Juan Francisco Estrada will need to fight a mandatory defense in his next fight. Promoter Fernando Beltran requested that the winner of the November 7th matchup between #1 ranked Giovani Segura and #2 ranked Hernan Tyson Marquez, both of Mexico, declared the mandatory challenger for the champion. The board unanimously agreed.

At junior bantamweight champion Omar Narvaez of Argentina, who is coming off a split decision victory over #1 ranked Felipe Orucuta of Mexico is slated to fight in February. No word on if it will be a rematch of his war with Orucuta, who looks poised to remain at #1. Dean Powell pushed to have Paul Butler (the #13 ranked fighter) move into the top ten after his next fight on September 21st. Butler is slated to fight undefeated Miguel Gonzales for the vacant WBO Intercontinental title. The board seemed receptive to the idea of Butler moving into the top ten if he were to defeat Gonzales. At bantamweight President Valcarcel confirmed that new champion Tomoki Kameda would have six months to fight his mandatory defense as he only recently won his title.

At junior featherweight the discussion was in regards to champion Guillermo Rigondeaux and his first defense. Jesse Magdaleno (the #8 ranked NABO Youth champion) and the #1 contender Chris Avalos (the NABO champion) were both mentioned as Top Rank pushed to have their fighters positioned into a title fight. A big round of applause followed for former world champion Barry McGuigan, who was there to represent undefeated British prospect Carl Frampton (16-0). Frampton, who is ranked #14, now looks poised to enter the top ten.

At featherweight the big discussion was over the fight between #1 ranked Orlando Cruz and #3 ranked Orlando Salido. That fight, which is scheduled to take place on October 12th for the vacant world title. There was a push to introduce Oscar Gonzalez (23-2) into the world rankings based on his impressive win over Rico Ramos as well as a push for undefeated Filipino prospect Jun Doliguez (16-0) to move up the ranks. Doliguez is ranked #9. The next discussion was over a fighter who is quickly becoming the most talked about rookie in recent memory: debuting amateur standout Vasyl Lomachenko. Lomachenko, who is slated to fight tough Jonathan Oquendo in his first pro fight, now will be fighting Oquendo for the vacant WBO International title. Despite some concern over allowing a debuting fighter to fight for a WBO belt, the board was nearly unanimous in recognizing what a unique and special talent Lomachenko is.

“Thank God there was no Lomachenko in my division at the time,” former Olympic gold medalist Istvan “Koko” Kovacs said, “I never saw a fighter like him before.”

The board approved Lomachenko for the title fight, making his planned world title fight in his second professional fight a more realistic scenario assuming he can get past the seasoned Jonathan Oquendo. Representatives for #5 ranked Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo of Thailand asked to have their fighter move up the ranks after the planned clash between the # and #3 ranked contenders.

At junior lightweight the WBO confirmed it was issuing a letter to champion Roman Martinez of Puerto Rico, informing him that he now has 30 days to begin negotiations for a fight with #1 ranked Miguel Angel Garcia.

In the lightweight division it was confirmed that champion Ricky Burns would fight #6 ranked Raymundo Beltran on September 7th. From there the board confirmed that Burns would need to begin negotiations with Terrence Crawford, the #1 contender, by December. Undefeated Denis Shafikov of Russia looked poised to move up as well from the #3 slot. In a bit of a shocker, promoter Fernando Beltran told the board that #12 ranked junior welterweight Jose Zepada was now moving down in weight to campaign at lightweight.

In the junior welterweight division the board voted to approve allowing Juan Manuel Marquez to enter the ring against Tim Bradley as WBO champion on October 12th. Mike Alvarado would then be declared the full champion after October 12th. A request to move #3 Serhiy Fedchenko up also came from the floor.

In the welterweight division Dean Powell asked to have #8 ranked Frankie Gavin move up in the ranks as he is slated to fight on September 21st for the European title. In junior middleweight some controversy arose over the next fight of #4 ranked Brian Rose. Both Charlie Ota of Japan (who is ranked #11) and Javier Maciel of Argentina (who is ranked #5) appeared to have an fight against Rose at the same time. After a round of phone calls it was confirmed that Rose would be fighting Maciel and not Ota in his next fight. Fernando Beltran also asked to have Omar Chavez, son of Julio Cesar Chavez, enter the world rankings. Dean Powell asked to have Liam Smith, who is challenging for a British title, move into the world rankings as well.

At middleweight it was confirmed that #1 ranked Brian Vera (the NABO champion) was slated to fight #2 ranked Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on September 28th. Champion Peter Quillin is slated to fight on October 26th. Several promoters moved to have their fighters positioned for an elimination fight as the Vera-Chavez fight created an opening for other fighters looking to move up in the rankings. #4 ranked Lukas Konecny of the Czech Republic and #5 ranked Max Bursak of the Ukraine look poised to emerge as the frontrunners to take part in an elimination fight. #15 ranked Patrick Neilsen of Denmark looks poised to crack into the top ten as well.

At 168-pounds there was a push to move Paul Smith into the rankings. #4 ranked Arthur Abraham looks poised to move into the #1 slot off the basis of his win last week. WBO champion Robert Stieglitz is slated to fight in October, and may end up fighting a rubber match with Abraham after that. When asked is Stieglitz would be willing to fight Abraham in a mandatory, Hedi Taouab indicated he would be.

“It’s for the WBO to decide,” Taouab said, “we are ready to negotiate and talk.”

Arthur Abraham was subsequently voted into the #1 ranking by the board.

At light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev has 120 days to defend his title. #13 ranked Erik Skoglund of Sweeden is slatefd to gfight #14 ranked Dominic Boesel of Germany in a rare WBO youth unification fight. At cruiserweight Marco Huck is slated to fight #1 ranked Firat Arslan on September 14th. #7 ranked Mateusz Masternak of Poland is slated to fight #14 ranked Grigory Droz of Germany on October 5th and wants to move up in the rankings as well. At heavyweight the discussion was over WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko’s 27-month gap since he fought a WBO mandatory challenger. With Klitschko fighting Alex Povetkin on October 5th, there was an issue over the fact that, according to President Valcarcel, the top ranked contenders of the WBO didn’t meet the “criteria for a mandatory”. #1 ranked Denis Boytsov is now slated to fight #11 ranked Christian Hammer. With #2 ranked Bermane Stiverne now the WBC mandatory for Klitschko it did look likely that Boytsov’s long wait may be over and the WBO may award him the mandatory slot if he emerges victorious over Hammer. There was a push to have #5 ranked Deontay Wilder fight for the vacant NABO title as well, and a push to have #13 eanked Andy Ruiz move up into the top ten. Dean Powell also pushed to have #15 ranked Dereck Chisora move up into the top ten on the basis of his knockout win over undefeated Malik Scott.

“His losses have been only at the highest level,” Powell said, “and some are very controversial.”

WBO Vice President Leon Panoncillo pushed to have Alex Leapai versus Andy Ruiz for the WBO Asia Pacific and WBO Oriental championship in Macao in November as well.

From there several awards were handed out, with Liam Welch being awarded the European fighter of the year award, Tia Yi being awarded the matchmaker of the year for China, and the Sports Management Group being awarded the Promoter of the Year. The Japan Boxing Association presented a letter to the WBO and Mario Margossian was awarded a special recognition award. The location of the 2014 and 2015 conventions were decided as well, with Las Vegas, Nevada being the host to the 2014 convention, with Puerto Rico as the backup. In a bit of a surprise, the Philippines will be the location of the 2015 Convention , with Cebu and Manila as the most likely venues.

Rounding off the 26th annual convention was the gala dinner, held at the Udvarhaz restaurant. Hungarian President János Áder attended the event, speaking to the crowd about Hungary’s proud (and at times) tragic history of great boxers. Ader’s moving tribute to Lazlo Papp brought many of the attendees to their feet as they applauded the Hungarian head of state. Rounding off the evening were the remaining awards which were handed out. Frank Warren was awarded the European promoter of the year while Dominic Boesel was awarded the WBO Youth fighter of the year. Robert Stieglitz was awarded the Gordy Volkman Award for outstanding humanitarian qualities. Poriyakoon Ratauasuban was awarded the WBO Oriental Promoter of the year while Michael Aldesguer was awarded the WBO International Promoter of the year. Felix Zabala was awarded the WBO Latino promoter of the year while Ulf Steinforth was awarded the WBO European promoter of the year as well as the European female fighter promoter of the year. Dean Powell was named matchmaker fo the year while Eddie Hearn was awarded a WBO Intercontinental special recognition award. Wilfried Sauerland was awarded a special recognition award as well. Hungary’s three most noteworthy former champions: Istvan Kovacs, Zsolt Erdei, and Karoly Balzsay were each awarded special recognition awards while Don King was awarded a “Greatest Legend in Boxing History” award. Rounding off the ceremony, Wladimir Klitschko was named WBO fighter of the year.

The 26th Annual WBO Congress officially kicked off Tuesday morning at the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Budapest as boxing insiders from around the world came to celebrate some of the exciting developments in the World Boxing Organization in 2013. The event kicked off with roll call, followed by an invocation. After approving the prior minutes from the 2012 Convention, the congress moved forward with the regional Vice President’s reports. Starting off was Vice President Mark Reels, who did reports from the NABO and the WBO Intercontinental. Although the NABO and the WBO Intercontinental both saw a slight drop in activity it still was a productive and profitable year for the regional organizations.

The NABO held an impressive 12 championship fights (with revenue of $46,760) while the Intercontinental held 20 championship fights (with a revenue of $68,560). Reels also discussed the success of the WBO in developing world class fighters. Reels discussed how the NABO has seen 54 of the 262 fighters who fought for the belt subsequently fight for the WBO title. Although Reels downplayed the statistic, expressing a desire to see that number rise, it nonetheless impressed many at the table, with President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel calling it “impressive.”

“Our issue is with quality over quantity,” Reels said during his presentation, “we have criteria for a fighter who is able to fight for a title.” Reels, however, did want to see some leniency on the issue of fighters getting sanctioned for NABO and WBO InterContinental fights, noting some good fighters who technically fell short of the high standards set by the WBO in regards to qualifications. President Valcarcel expressed concern over the idea.

Still, with all 15 NABO championship fights since last year’s convention being televised by a major TV network, Reels had an impressive year by nearly any standard. “As far as activity levels go, it is low,” Reels added, “but we really are recognized the world over.” Reels then discussed the revenue of the Intercontinental, confirming that the WBO Intercontinental collected over $40,000 of the $68,560 income in 2013.

From there Vice President Istvan “Koko” Kovacs presented his report on the WBO Europe. Although he admitted it was a “quiet year” he still was happy to announce that it Iwas still a productive year for the European continent. There were 13 Intercontinental title fights, with 9 taking place in Europe. There were also 14 International title fights, with 9 taking place in Europe, as well as 11 WBO European title fights. There were 6 WBO Youth title fights, with 4 taking place in Europe, 21 female title fights, with 5 taking place in Europe, and 32 world title fights with 10 taking place in Europe. Overall the WBO had 29 fights in Europe, a drop from 38 the previous year. WBO Europe’s revenue in 2013 was $40,500. Kovacs also commented on the previous issue with the British Boxing Board, commenting on how the WBO no longer has any problems working with the BBB. The BBB refused to recognize the WBO in previous years.

Next was Vice President Jorge Molina’s report on the WBO Latino. Molina admitted it had been a “hard year” for the Latino, with “only 25 Latino title fights in 10 months.” Still, Molina was able to point to the WBO Latino’s proud tradition and was able to proudly say that the WBO Latino continued that tradition in 2013. “#7 WBO Latino Champions became world champions,” Molina said, “and four of our WBO Latino champions have become world title holders (this year).” The WBO Latino raised $26,000 in the 25 title fights since the last convention, with 13 planned title fights to round out the year.

From there a short video on the WBO’s widely successful WBO Kids Drug Free program was shown.

Next was Andrew Smalle’s WBO Africa regional report. Smalle admitted it was a slow year, with 7 WBO Africa fights since the last convention. From November of 2012 to December of 2012 there were three title fights, with revenue of $5,050. From January of 2013 to August of 2013 there were 4 WBO Africa title fights with revenue of $4,800. However, Smalle confirmed that additional income was expected as some sponsorship allocation was expected to kick in before the end of the year. Smalle also commented on the WBO’s commitment to high standards for the quality of the fighters who compete for the WBO African belt. Smalle’s commitment to the highest standards for WBO title fights has resulted in a lower number of championship fights, but also of a growing reputation in the continent.

“It’s been a challenge but I don’t see it as a negative at all,” Smalle admitted, “it can only go up from where it’s at now. We are a young organization, and one of our proudest moments was one of our fighters winning a championship earlier this year.” Smalle noted that despite the low activity, the WBO Africa’s high standard has resulted in it being the only regional African organization that has seen all of its champions ranked in the world rankings after winning a regional belt.

Next came Leon Panoncillo’s report from WBO Asia. Similar to the other organizations WBO Asia saw a slight decline in revenue, but it has continued its commitment to quality. Since the last convention the Asia-Pacific held 14 championship fights, raising $27,700. Panoncillo also anticipated holding 10 more fights before the end of the year. The WBO Oriental title had 5 fights, with 8 more planned for the end f other year. The WBO Asia Pacific Youth title had three title fights, raising $3,750. Although Panoncillo admitted that the Youth title has “not taken off” he was optimistic that a major Filipino television network was interested in partnering up with the WBO Asia-Pacific to award a youth belt to the winner of a “Contender” like reality series involving young prizefighters in the Philippines. Panoncillo’s biggest coup came with the exciting developments of his newest title: the WBO International championship. In just one year the WBO International title has become a highly prestigious belt, with Manny Pacquiao and Brandon Rios fighting for the vacant belt in Macao on November 24th. Panoncillo confirmed that the WBO has custom made a new belt for the winner of that fight.

The next report came from Zhang Tao on the China Zone. Although the WBO China Zone held only 7 fight shows, the WBO is still making headway into the world’s largest market, and Tao informed the board that he looked forward to hosting the WBO in China. Joe Hernandez then spoke of the Cuban boxing scene, and his desire that the situation in Cuba would soon open up. “When it (Cuba) does come free, the WBO will be at the forefront.”

Markus Aslani followed with his report on female boxing in the WBO. He proudly announced that the WBO had a good year, with an emphasis on quality in regards to female championship fights.

After lunch there was a brief discussion on ratings by Luis Perez, followed by a report by Luis Bautista Salas, which not only focused on “loyalty” but also discussed the successful year of the WBO, with 54 total championship fights (33 men’s championship fights and 21 female championship fights). There was a brief discussion on the growth of the WBO in the British boxing scene.

“We have good working relations and we want to see how we can continue this in the future,” President Valcarcel said.

A discussion from representatives from the Japan Boxing Commission followed, which was a clear sign of the WBO’s success in breaking into a new market. At the last congress in Budapest in 2009 there was a controversy over the WBO’s inability to operate in Japan. The growth in Japan since then was a clear victory for the WBO as it moved forward in Japan.

Next came the legal report, in which the WBO legal representatives discussed several pending legal issues. Several issues regarding trademark registration was discussed, with several brands extended into 2018. They then followed up with a discussion on the recent litigation in Puerto Rico. Some confusion emerged in 2012 in regards to the administrative level, with the Puerto Rican Department of treasury moving forward with legal action against the WBO in regards to its tax exempt status.

“It’s confusion over what we actually do,” one of the legal advisors for the WBO said, “It’s a lack of knowledge of the working issues of the organization.” Although the WBO is confident that they will prevail, several members understood that even if they do not prevail in litigation, it will have little major impact on the WBO. If there is an issue we will simply change the way we disperse funds,” one legal advisor of the WBO said.

Rounding off Day One, WBO President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel gave a special shout out to WBO Asia Vice President Leon Panoncillo over the impressive developments in Macao and the Philippines.

“We control Asia from A to Z,” Valcarcel said, “everything that occurring Asia is very important to us.”

Rounding off the night, boxing insiders visited the Lázár Lovaspark, where they were delighted by a traditional Hungarian horseshow as well as a traditional Hungarian dinner.

NABO and WBC International Heavyweight Champion Johnathon Banks gets dressed before holding a public workout at Ecorse high school in Ecorse, June 11, 2013. The event was in preparation for his rematch against Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, June 22. (David Guralnick / The Detroit News) –

By: Josh Katzenstein –

At Kronk Gym, boxers learned to go for knockouts.

And when Detroit heavyweight Johnathon Banks puts his NABO and WBC titles on the line Saturday night against Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell of Brandywine, Md., Banks will try to knock out Mitchell a second consecutive time.

“I can’t do anything but expect a knockout,” said Javan “Sugar” Hill, Banks’ trainer. “That’s what we train for every time.”

As usual, Banks will wear gold Kronk shorts when he fights at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.. But in his second match since Kronk’s legendary trainer Emanuel Steward died last October, Banks’ preparation has been different.

For the first time in his career, Banks (29-1-1, 19 KOs) trained in Traverse City, where Steward trained Tommy “Hitman” Hearns before his 1981 welterweight title fight against Sugar Ray Leonard.

Banks also enters this bout with more experience since taking over training duties for world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

“Being able to teach while you’re still learning and active yourself I think it’s a little extra bonus in there,” Banks said. “It gives you almost a better overall picture of how everything’s going.”

Everything went fairly well last time Banks fought.

In November 2012, he knocked out Mitchell in the second round in Atlantic City. The rematch originally was scheduled for last February, but Banks had to withdraw because a broken thumb.

Now, back at 100 percent, Banks said he’s ready to protect his titles — on his birthday, no less. But he’s not drawing extra confidence from his previous knockout of Mitchell.

“All my experience in the ring, out of the ring, around the great Emanuel Steward have given me all the confidence one man could have as far as I’m concerned,” Banks said.

And even though he was knocked out, Mitchell (25-1-1, 19 KOs) remains confident, too.

“If Johnathon Banks would’ve out-boxed me for six or seven rounds or outclassed me, of course the fighter in me would’ve wanted a rematch, but I wouldn’t have taken the rematch right away,” Mitchell said in a release. “I believe that I’m a better fighter than him and I didn’t show everything that I’m capable of.”

Of course, Banks’ camp wanted to keep finding ways to improve, and one method was to move camp to Traverse City.

“Everything was fresh in Traverse City,” Hill said.

Detroit’s Johnathon Banks is putting his NABO and WBC heavyweight titles on the line Saturday when he faces Seth Mitchell in Brooklyn, N.Y. David Guralnick/Detroit News

Canadian light heavyweight Adonis Stevenson also trained with Banks in Traverse City before his first-round knockout of South Carolina’s Chad Dawson on June 8.

And since he was training in Michigan, Banks held a public workout at Ecorse High last week to see some people he grew up with. Banks went to Western International High in Detroit, but lived in Ecorse until eighth grade.

“It’s just nice to be home, nice to be in Michigan at a place that you could train and you have a very, very good environment,” Banks said.

A few months at home also provided some time relax for Banks, whose job as Klitschko’s trainer has taken him around the world. Klitschko’s fight in May was in Germany and his camp was in Florida.

Although some people in the boxing world are surprised he’s training the Ukrainian heavyweight, Banks said all his experience learning from Steward has made him a confident teacher.

“(Klitschko) is so picky about who he talks to and who he listens to and the fact that he listens to everything I say, No. 1 is a compliment to myself,” Banks said. “No. 2 it just shows how this man trusts me. He trusts me with his career. He believed in me and he chose me, and we’re continuing our success.”

And while Saturday’s fight has kept Banks from thinking about his future, he eventually wants to carry on Steward’s legacy by opening a gym in downtown Detroit.

“My goal is to be able to open up a gym to where the kids can come to — that’s what Emanuel wanted,” he said. “After this fight — obviously I’m planning on winning; I’m getting ready for the fight so I can’t give a pitiful performance — I’m hoping to do something in the city.”

Undefeated WBO Featherweight Champion Mikey Garcia and former 2X world champion Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez along with Hall of Fame Promoter Bob Arum and former Heavyweight Champion George Foreman took center stage at the final presser for this Saturday’s mega fight at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas and also shown live on HBO.

The usual cheery Juanma, though, wanted to set the record straight about his career and the caliber of talent he has faced compared to Mikey. He believes everyone is so focused on his losses to Salido and how Mikey demolished Salido that he therefore has no shot in this fight. He made it very clear that this is not his first rodeo.

“If you go by Salido, Mikey should beat me by knockout. I knocked out Concepcion in 2 rounds and he beat him in 8 rounds. Salido was a great fight [against Mikey], but Salido was on his way out.”

All this Salido talk has really started to bother Juanma.

“Yea it bothers me because they don’t look at my whole work and I have been a 2x world champion. I have beaten some guys; he went 12 rounds with Lontchi and I knocked him out. There are other guys in there that you should be looking up besides that one fight.” Juanma also believes he has had the superior career to date.

“I believe that, I believe that I have fought better opponents. I have been a world champion longer and fought a lot of tough fights as a champion, so I do believe that I have faced tougher guys than he has.”

Juanma added, “My world championship fight will be #12 on Saturday, this is only going to be his 2nd fight as world champion.”

Juanma is aware of Mikey’s versatility as a boxer and puncher.

“You know, he’s a boxer but he’s also a puncher if he needs to be, he’ll trade with you. I am not afraid of trading with him. I know that will happen during the fight – he will trade with me sooner or later. It’s the question of making my fight, making him adjust to my fight.” Juanma, though, has no doubt he is bringing the title back to Puerto Rico.

“Mikey wants to keep the title and I want to get something that was once mine.” “One time I saw Mikey in New York and told him don’t worry, you will have an opportunity and become world champion. I hope he is in great condition and willing to die in the ring, because come Saturday it will be the toughest fight of his career. I come to take the title back to Puerto Rico Saturday night.”

Mikey displayed his usual classy self and respect for his opponent but with the utmost confidence in his ability.

“I know my opponent is a tough guy. He is experienced and has been a champion twice. I don’t take him lightly. When you are champion there are no easy fights,” stated Mikey. Mikey responded to Juanma’s frustration with the Salido comparison and Juanma’s comment about Concepcion.

“That’s the truth. It’s the truth, he did take Concepcion out in round 2, but he was also almost knocked out in the 1st round by Concepcion and I didn’t even get touched by Concepcion. So you can’t really compare the fighters, it’s not really a fair comparison, really.”

“The fans and media keep pushing something like that, the Salido fight or whatever, but it’s not fair, because you catch them at different times in their career. I can actually have a better Juanma this time around then when he fought Salido, until Saturday night we’ll find out.”

Was Salido a finished fighter when you fought him?

“I don’t think so. I just made it my fight, if I stand toe to toe with Salido and I make it an interesting fight and it’s a close fight and give him opportunities. If I stay on the outside and box my way around him, it’s easy for me.” Mikey is confident.

“I think I am a better fighter overall, just a better fighter, whether it’s punching power or boxing ability, speed, whatever. I think I’m the better fighter and that’s why I will win.” “This is another opportunity to show everybody that I truly am the best featherweight in the world.”

Arum sees a slugfest in the making and puts in historic fashion, comparing it to the to the classic Salvador Sanchez vs Wilfredo Gomez. “Absolutely it will [be a classic] and somebodies winning by a knockout. I would not be surprised if both of them go down.”

Arum also compared his former Heavyweight Champion to these Featherweights.

“There wasn’t a bigger puncher than George Foreman, but these featherweights pack a good punch as well.”

Arum continued, “Everyone is really excited about the main event. You have a former champion from Puerto Rico, who has a record of sensationally knocking guys cold. Guys couldn’t get out of first round with him and then they went on fighting other people and won a world championship.”

“A Mexican American kid from Oxnard, California coming from a family steeped in boxing, his father was a trainer, his brother a trainer and former champion so a family that has lived and breathed boxing and whose has had a sterling record as a professional.”

Arum added, “This match is very, very exciting, when you put a great Puerto Rican fighter vs a great Mexican, Mexican American fighter, there is no other rivalry that stirs the blood like that rivalry does.”

Co-promoter of Juanma, Peter Rivera of PR Best Boxing echoed Arum’s feeling when Mexicans and Puerto Ricans square off. “Mexicans and Puerto Ricans make great fights, one of the most tremendous fights you can see in boxing. We are confident Juan Manuel will be champion again…we have no doubt about that.”

WBO President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel also weighed in on the matchup.

“It’s a pleasure to be here with my favorite champ [George Foreman]. We have 2 big weapons fighting each other in this fight. You will see a great fight on Saturday.”

George Foreman, along with his sons is co-promoting with Bob Arum and Top Rank and is glad to a part of it.

“I’m happy to be here, especially in Dallas. We call it the big city next to Houston”, stated Big George. “You won’t have to go out of the country to see a great fight. Once the bell rings there is no champion so sit back and get ready for a good show.”

Big George can’t wait for fight night.

“Each fight, all fights are as equally exciting to me. That’s the advantage I have over most people, they are looking for a big fight, and I’m just looking for any fight. I love fighters and I love action and this I am looking forward to.”

Big George does give Juanma a puncher’s chance but loves Mikey’s left hook.

“When the bell rings, the title is vacant. There aren’t any champions, that title is vacant. You have no winners until the first punch is thrown, anybody can walk out of there with the crown.

“I’m looking for this Mikey Garcia. I call him the best left hooker to never come out of Philadelphia.”

* * *

Arum is very high on the co-main event as well that puts Alejandro Sanabria (33-2, 30KO’s) against Terrence Crawford (20-0, 15KO’s) for the NABO Lightweight Championship.

“This is a very good competitive match, the kind of match that is extremely fan friendly. People will be on the edge of their seats watching,” stated Arum.

Sanabria was happy to introduce himself to America.

“I come here with a desire to prove to the American public my talent and going out there Saturday night. This is a great opportunity in my career. I know I have trained very hard.”

Arum tells the story how they discovered Crawford after fighting on several of Top Rank’s undercards and then suddenly becomes a last minute replacement to fight Breidis Prescott and beats him handily.

“This is a true story of how boxing works, it’s not a Cinderella story, it’s a story,” stated Arum. “This is how Lou Gehrig replaced Wally Pip. He got the opportunity. For those of you that don’t remember, Wally Pipp was the 1st baseman for the Yankees and Lou Gehrig was a rookie and Pip got injured and Gehrig came in and replaced him and never relinquished the 1st base position until he had set all kinds of records for consecutive games played.”

“So Terrence stepped in, he was the Lou Gehrig of boxing of our time and here he is performing on the big stage as a HBO fighter in what should be a tremendous fight.”

The Gehrig / Pipp comparison was probably lost on the 25 year old Crawford, but he was definitely glad to be there.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank god for blessing me with the opportunity to be here and HBO / Top Rank for having me again. I trained really hard for this fight, I never overlook an opponent and I am just ready to go out on Saturday to display my talent once again and to show everybody that I was no “one hit wonder.”

Both Big George and Bob Arum are expecting the beginning of great things together in Big D starting with Juanma vs Mikey, but understand it doesn’t happen overnight. “Yea, it’s a process. We have done it all over Texas. I don’t why we can’t do it here in Dallas,” Arum said.

Added Big George, “You are just going to have to see when they walk up, but it’s a hard thing when you say HBO, everybody thinks you are supposed to stay at home and watch it on TV, but I want to show them it’s more exciting going out to a live match then you would ever get on television.”

VERONA, NY (JANUARY 24, 2013)—On Thursday evening, all the fighters for the ESPN Friday Night Fights championship boxing card weighed in for the card that will take place at the Turning Stone Resort Casino.

In the main event, Sergiy Dzinziruk takes on Brian Vera for the NABO Middleweight championship. The co-feature will pit undefeated Tony Luis against Jose Hernandez in a ten round Jr. Welterweight bout.

HOBOKEN, New Jersey (May 30, 2012) – American boxing fans will once again have an opportunity to watch some of the most promising prospects from North of the border as FIGHT NOW! TV TM – America’s only 24-hour combat sports and entertainment channel – airs the fifth and final edition of the popular “Fast & Furious Boxing Series” on June 8 live from the famed Bell Centre in Montreal. Viewers may also watch on Ustream – ordering information is available at ustream.tv and fightnow.com.

“Promoter Yvon Michel (GYM Boxing) always delivers top fighters in entertaining, competitive fights,” says Mike Garrow, Co-Founder and General Manager of FIGHT NOW! TV. “Our FIGHT NOW! TV viewers always enjoy GYM (Groupe Yvon Michel) events. We’re very happy to be working again with this quality promotion to bring the best of Canadian boxing to the United States.

“The 28-year-old Alvarez, who lives in Montreal, was a 2008 Colombian Olympian who captured the NABO title last December, stopping Emiliano Cayetano in the opening round. Rated No. 15 by the WBO, Alvarez won all eight rounds in his most recent fight this past April against Rayco Saunders.

Hawk, who fights out of Atlantic City, New Jersey, is riding a five-fight win streak, four of which have come at light heavyweight after campaigning most of his professional career as a cruiserweight. Hawk, 27, has defeated top light heavyweights Henry Buchanan (20-2), Otis Griffin (23-8-2) and Rubin Williams (29-10-1) for the Sovereign Nations title.

In the co-feature, Montreal middleweight David Lemieux (25-2, 24 KO) makes his long-awaited comeback to the ring, after being sidelined since December from a right hand injury against Joachim Alcine (33-2-1, 19 KO). The wildly popular Lemieux, who is ranked No. 23 by the World Boxing Council (“WBC”), takes on tough Mexican-American Jaudiel “Negro” Zepeda (12-5-1, 9 KO) in an eight-round match.

For more information visit www.fightnow.com or www.groupeyvonmichel.ca.
About FIGHT NOW TV: With offices in New Jersey, Las Vegas and Toronto, FIGHT NOW TV is a cross-platform media company that creates and distributes content through its television, video on demand, and online outlets.

Founded by Channel Zero, Inc. and media entrepreneur Mike Garrow, FIGHT NOW! TV is the only 24 hours a day, seven days a week combat sports channel in the nation. The network’s mandate is to bring the best battles, fiercest fights and stunning knockouts to America. FIGHT NOW! TV caters to fight fans of every genre, giving them a front row seat to compelling coverage of MMA, boxing, wrestling/grappling, Muay Thai, kickboxing and other combat sports. FIGHT NOW TV is the place for the best analysis, live and current events, documentaries and news coverage of the biggest PPV events and matchups from around the globe.

FIGHT NOW! TV has also enlisted one of the fight game’s biggest names to join its camp, 5-time UFC champion and MMA legend Randy Couture, who serves as both spokesperson and analyst for the channel.

FIGHT NOW! TV, It’s ON! Call Your Television Provider To Order

For more information about FIGHT NOW! TV visit www.fightnow.com, or follow them on Twitter @fightnowtv and Facebook.com/fightnowtv.

ALBANY, N.Y. — Karim Mayfield floored Raymond Serrano at the fourth-round bell, and then landed a solid right hand less than a minute into the fifth that stopped the challenger in the NABO junior welterweight title fight Friday night.

Mayfield and Serrano both swung at the bell of the fourth round, but Mayfield’s punch landed, sending Serrano (18-1) to the canvas. Serrano eventually returned to his corner, wobbling and recovering barely enough to go out for the fifth

“I stayed composed,” Mayfield said. “My corner told me that was a shot that was going to be hard to recover from. A minute’s time wasn’t long enough time to recover from a shot like that. In my mind I was thinking, I don’t want to let this opportunity go where I could’ve gotten him out of there, but didn’t.”

Mayfield (16-0-2 10 KOs) came out with a flurry in the fifth, and referee Eddie Claudio stopped it with Serrano staggering 47 seconds in.

“He fought a good fight,” Serrano said. “He caught me with a good shot. I’ll be back.”

Mayfield, listed shorter by an inch and crouching to make himself shorter, effectively ducked under many of Serrano’s punches in the first three rounds. Mayfield sent Serrano down in the third with a right counter and two more punches.

“I’m only 5-7, maybe even giving myself two inches,” Mayfield said. “When you got a guy that’s shorter than you and a guy goes down lower, it’s a little timid, because you don’t want to be reaching down to jab. Coming up with that coiling style is very intimidating, because you have to reach down, and I’m actually reaching up while you’re reaching down. I knew I could make opportunities from that.”

Serrano was game, especially starting out.

“I was surprised how easy it was for me to hit him,” Serrano said. “He’s strong.”

“He’s a pit bull,” Mayfield said.

But Mayfield crouched and kept his distance in the opening two rounds and was able to counter in the third. He nearly ended it with his right hand at the bell to end the fourth.

“Honestly, I was hoping he was a little timid — but he wasn’t,” Mayfield said. “I caught him with a great shot that put him down. That normally should’ve put a lot of guys out. He shouldn’t have gotten up from that, because I caught him flush.”

In the junior middleweight undercard, Kevin Rooney Jr. lost for the second time, beaten by late replacement Anthony Jones in a four-round decision. The southpaw Jones, who also fought and won four rounds nine days ago, came out aggressively and barely let up. Jones knocked Rooney down twice — in the first round and solidly with a straight left in the second. Rooney landed two good rights in the third round, including an overhand right, but it wasn’t enough. Rooney falls to 4-2.

It is a fight series is billed as “Fast and Furious” by promoter Yvon Michel and that’s exactly what was delivered by headliner Adonis “Superman” Stevenson (18-1 15KO) who stopped WBC Silver belt holder Noe Gonzalez (28-2 20KO) at 1:40 of the 2nd round in front of 2853 Bell Centre fans. After being the aggressor and establishing a solid body attack in the first round, Stevenson let his hands go in the second and didn’t stop. A left hand early in the barrage seemed to stun the Argentine fighter and from there on it was bombs away as the hometown fighter pressured and didn’t let up. After several consecutive head shots, referee Michael Griffin stepped in and stopped the action.

Gonzalez who seemed hurt several times during the barrage did little to protest the referee’s decision, walking meekly back to his corner one the contest was called.

“The punch that originally hurt his opponent wasn’t even a clean blow,” said Stevenson’s trainer Emanuel Steward. “It was a half-blocked blow and that is an attribute to the punching power of Adonis Stevenson.”

“It was my left hook I caught him with,” confirmed Stevenson, “I was like a snake. I saw him shaking and I just finished him.”

“He was always in balance and placed his punches really well,” said Steward. “He finished him off with well placed punches, very short accurate punches so he got caught with a lot of clean blows.”

It was Steward’s second fight with the Haitian born Stevenson and marked the first time the trainer has had a chance to give instructions between rounds. “It’s been two fights and he hasn’t got a drop of water on his trunks yet. I told him he was fighting a masterpiece and to continue what he was doing. He was getting anxious or overly aggressive just be patient and try to make him back up more. He wasn’t a counter puncher, he was a strong guy with his muscles all greased up to try and look impressive, but I noticed he could only fight coming forward so I said try and back him up and get him in a corner.”

With the win, Stevenson adds the WBC silver belt to his ever growing prize closet of hardware including the NABO, NABA and IBF Intercontinental. But while the WBC is a very real possibility the IBF #2 fighter still has his eyes set on fellow Montrealer Lucian Bute. Promoter Yvon Michel will keep the fighter on the shelf till at least after Bute’s May 26 bout with Carl Froch so the fighter will be available for any potential fight for mandatory challenger. “We expect a fight two days after the Froch fight to see if we’re free to fight for the number one position. The other think is that Ward already said that he is not fighting Anthony Dirrell. By having the silver if that title ever becomes vacant, he will be chosen along with Dirrell to fight for it. So right now we have a bit of a waiting game before scheduling his next fight. He’s in the position everywhere right now.”

For the fighter himself, the goal is still clear, “It doesn’t matter the WBC or the IBF, I want to fight Bute in Montreal” Stevenson said, “In Montreal you need big fights like that, me and Bute.”